In 2018 the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference made the decision, through prayer and conversation with one another, to become an Open & Affirming conference within the United Church of Christ. In our ecclesiastical polity, each church, conference, and national body makes a decision like this of its own accord. No one body speaks for another - instead, we choose to listen to one another. Some of the churches in our conference have made the decision to become Open & Affirming, while others have not, and still others are discerning where God is leading them. Below, you’ll find the text of the resolution that declared our conference “ONA.”

We Resolve…

Jesus teaches us to love one another (John 15:12), and;

Paul teaches us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:14), and;

If one member suffers, all suffer together. (1 Corinthians 12:26-27.)

Therefore, Be It Resolved.

We, the members of the Kansas Oklahoma Conference of the United Church of Christ, in all aspects of its administrative, program and worship life, declare the Kansas Oklahoma Conference to be Open and Affirming (ONA) of all persons, specifically including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.

We covenant with God and one another to extend welcome and Christian fellowship to all followers and seekers of Christ without fear, prejudice, or discrimination in regard to sexual orientation, gender identity, race, age, ethnicity, nationality, physical, mental or emotional condition, education, financial situation, biblical or theological interpretation, or any other circumstance that has historically been a barrier to full life, participation, membership, mission, work and ministry in the Kansas Oklahoma Conference of the United Church of Christ. We embrace all persons as equal partners in the Body of Christ with unlimited access to opportunity of service to God, and;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we of the Kansas Oklahoma Conference of the United Church of Christ will continue a committed, prayerful, and respectful dialogue with one another as we seek God’s guidance for greater biblical and theological understanding of principal issues, including those relating to human sexuality, and finally;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Kansas Oklahoma Conference of the United Church of Christ reaches this decision because we “affirm the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God.” (from Paragraph 2, Preamble, UCC Constitution.)